Vandalism prompts school closure

VERNON, IL — School officials, custodians and maintenance staff have been working diligently to clean the mess left by a 16-year-old who went on a rampage and vandalized McClellan Grade School last weekend, according to WSIL-TV.

The main damage to the building was the windows: 12 outside windows were broken; five large inside windows were broken; and two small inside windows were broken, the story stated.

The vandal, who caused the school to be closed for the early part of this week, also destroyed computers, digital video disk (DVD) players, a smart board and various other electronics, the story noted.

According to the story, cleaning crews, including workers from Servpro, have put in more than 100 man hours in the past few days to ensure there are no shards of glass inside or around the school and to erase the effects of the vandalism.

Superintendent Angela Mills said: "They are literally taking out and wiping down everything in the building ... bookshelves, books, papers, things on the wall, if it''s in here it''s getting wiped down."

The damage is estimated at more than $100,000 and the 16-year-old suspect is being charged as a juvenile with criminal damage to state supported property, the story added.